My family has always been the ones who were there for me. They encouraged me to reach my full potential, go to college and follow my dreams. They’ve always been the ones I leaned on and my greatest support system -- until I brought my boyfriend home.

It was honestly like I had said a cuss word in front of my family’s preacher when they asked where he went to church and I said, “Oh, he’s Catholic.” Everyone whose faces were looking down had eyes as large as saucers when they looked up at me. I know that being Catholic was different than the norm of my family (Southern Baptist), but I had been a member of an Assemblies of God church for four years and that was acceptable. So what was wrong with being Catholic? My answer: nothing. To my family, it was everything.

In a world where people are being empowered to become whomever they want to be, I struggle with why my family feels it is so wrong for me to be with a boy who just so happens to be Catholic. So in response, here is what I have to say to those skeptics:

To my aunt who said, “So you’re going to have a bunch of kids,” I say no. We can have one or 100 – whatever we choose. Babies don’t happen because of your religious preference, babies happen through a natural, scientific process.

To my cousin who asked, “Does this mean you’re going to convert,” I shake my head. I don’t have to be Catholic to date or marry someone who is Catholic. I just have to accept that I will be constantly exposed to their ideology and I need to be OK with that. And guess what? I am. Catholic ideology is just the same as any other Christian ideology. If I were to become Catholic, that wouldn’t be so bad. The Catholic Church was the first church established when Jesus handed Peter the keys to the kingdom. And in my opinion, this particular boy is the godliest guy I’ve ever met, which I was taught by you all was a major attribute I needed to look for when “dating” around.

To my family who is skeptical about me dating a Catholic boy, look at it this way, I’ve dated a few boys in my short time here on Earth. The other boys treated me like dirt, walked all over me and played games with me mentally and emotionally. This Catholic boy cherishes me, takes care of me and goes out of his way to make sure he can brighten my day.

So does it really matter at the end of the day if he’s Catholic when he’s a great guy with ambition, who cherishes me and wants to have a future with me? I think not.